Bingöl Mountains: A Thousand Lakes and Kala Tepe

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1. What are the Bingöl Mountains?
2. How do you get to the Bingöl Mountains?
3. When is the best time to visit the Bingöl Mountains?
4. What is the history of the Bingöl Mountains?
5. What are the Bingöl Mountains famous for?
6. What can you do in the Bingöl Mountains?
7. Common misconceptions about the Bingöl Mountains
8. Frequently asked questions about the Bingöl Mountains
9. What do the official records say about the Bingöl Mountains?

What are the Bingöl Mountains?

The Bingöl Mountains (Bingöl Dağları) are a broad volcanic massif in the northeast of Bingöl province, around Karlıova and along the borders with Erzurum and Muş. Their high slopes are dotted with small lakes left by glaciers and snowmelt, and the name Bingöl, “a thousand lakes”, comes from them. The Aras River, which flows east to the Caspian, rises on their northern slopes.

In summer the range is open pasture, used by herders and beekeepers; Bingöl honey comes from these meadows. The 2002 inventory lists the range for highland tourism and names Kala Tepe, at about 3,250 m, as a place for walking and for watching the sunrise.

How do you get to the Bingöl Mountains?

Karlıova, a district town northeast of Bingöl city, is the usual gateway; it is on the road that continues to Erzurum and Muş. From Karlıova, village roads and tracks climb towards the pastures. There is no public transport into the mountains, so you need a car, ideally with good clearance, or a local guide.

The nearest airports are Bingöl Airport and Muş Sultan Alparslan Airport. Kös Hot Springs lie on the way from Bingöl city to Karlıova.

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When is the best time to visit the Bingöl Mountains?

From late June to early September, when snow has cleared from the high ground and the pastures are in use. The inventory gives 15 July to 15 August as the period for watching the sunrise from Kala Tepe. Outside summer, snow closes the tracks; Karlıova is known for its severe winters.

What is the history of the Bingöl Mountains?

The range is volcanic, built up by lava flows that formed the high plateaus of this part of eastern Anatolia. Glaciers and long winters later carved the hollows where the small lakes now sit.

For centuries the mountains have been summer pasture: villages from the valleys move their flocks up in early summer and back down in autumn, and beekeepers bring their hives to the flower meadows. The inventory lists the Bingöl and Şerafettin mountains as the province’s two highland-tourism areas.

What are the Bingöl Mountains famous for?

• The thousand lakes that gave the province its name.
• Sunrise from Kala Tepe, which local tradition holds to be one of the finest anywhere.
• The source of the Aras, one of the great rivers of the Caucasus region.
• Bingöl honey from the summer meadows.

What can you do in the Bingöl Mountains?

Walk between the lakes. The high plateau has no marked trails, so go with a local guide or someone who knows the area, and carry water and warm layers.

Watch the sunrise from Kala Tepe. In late July and early August the inventory recommends being on the summit at dawn. This means a very early start or a night camping on the mountain.

See pastoral life. In summer you will pass herders’ camps and beekeepers’ hives. Ask before photographing people and keep a distance from sheepdogs.

Combine with Kös. On the way back to Bingöl city, stop at the hot springs at Kös.

Common misconceptions about the Bingöl Mountains

Is Kala Tepe one of only two places in the world to watch a true sunrise?

What people often assume: That the sunrise from Kala Tepe can be matched only by the Swiss Alps, a claim repeated in many Turkish sources.

What the record says: The claim comes from local tradition, recorded in the 2002 provincial inventory. It is not a measurable fact; the sunrise from Kala Tepe is a fine sight, but similar views can be had from many high peaks (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Bingöl Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002).

Frequently asked questions about the Bingöl Mountains

What do the official records say about the Bingöl Mountains?

The sunrise can be watched in its full sense from two places in the world. The first is the Alps in Switzerland; the second is Kala Tepe in the Bingöl Mountains. Kala Tepe is in the Bingöl Mountains, 3,250 m high, in the province’s Karlıova district. Every year it is possible to watch the sunrise from here between 15 July and 15 August. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Bingöl Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)